Although we all miss having the Governors Awards presented at the Oscar ceremony proper, the fact that the Academy is giving out so many more as a result of their changes is at least a small solace. This year, three legendary names received special recognition from the Academy. two-time Oscar nominees director Spike Lee and actress Gena Rowlands will receive Honorary Oscars. Oscar-nominated actress Debbie Reynolds will receive the Jean Hershholt Humanitarian award. It’s hard to argue with these names considering the importance each has had in the shape of film history.
Here is the official press release from the Academy announcing the selections.
SPIKE LEE, DEBBIE REYNOLDS AND GENA ROWLANDS TO RECEIVE ACADEMYโS 2015 GOVERNORS AWARDS
LOS ANGELES, CA โ The Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences voted Tuesday night (August 25) to present Honorary Awards to Spike Lee and Gena Rowlands, and the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award to Debbie Reynolds. All three awards will be presented at the Academyโs 7th Annual Governors Awards on Saturday, November 14, at the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland Centerยฎ.
โThe Board is proud to recognize our honoreesโ remarkable contributions at this yearโs Governors Awards,โ said Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs. โWeโll be celebrating their achievements with the knowledge that the work they have accomplished โ with passion, dedication and a desire to make a positive difference โ will also enrich future generations.โ
Lee, a champion of independent film and an inspiration to young filmmakers, made an auspicious debut with his NYU thesis film, โJoeโs Bed-Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads,โ which won a Student Academy Awardยฎ in 1983. He proceeded to blaze a distinctive trail with such features as โSheโs Gotta Have It,โ โSchool Dazeโ and โDo the Right Thing,โ which earned him a 1989 Oscarยฎ nomination for Original Screenplay. His work as a director ranges from the Oscar-nominated documentary feature โ4 Little Girlsโ to such mainstream successes as โMalcolm Xโ and โInside Man.โ Leeโs other feature credits include โMoโ Better Blues,โ โJungle Fever,โ โCrooklyn,โ โHe Got Game,โ โ25th Hour,โ โMiracle at St. Annaโ and โRed Hook Summer.โ He currently serves as the artistic director of the graduate film program at NYU.
Rowlands, an original talent whose devotion to her craft has earned her worldwide recognition as an independent film icon, received Academy Award nominations for her lead performances in โA Woman under the Influenceโ (1974) and โGloriaโ (1980), both directed by her husband and frequent collaborator, John Cassavetes. She got her start on the New York stage and in live television in the 1950s and has appeared in 40 feature films to date, from โThe High Cost of Lovingโ in 1958 to โSix Dance Lessons in Six Weeks,โ which she starred in earlier this year. Her other notable films include โLonely Are the Brave,โ โFaces,โ โMinnie and Moskowitz,โ โOpening Night,โ โAnother Woman,โ โUnhook the Stars,โ โHope Floats,โ โPlaying by Heart,โ โThe Notebookโ and โBroken English.โ
Reynolds, a Hollywood icon since she won hearts with her buoyant performance in โSinginโ in the Rain,โ embarked on the role of a lifetime as a founding member of the Thalians, a charitable organization conceived and sustained by entertainers to promote awareness and treatment of mental health issues. She served as the groupโs president almost continuously from 1957 to 2011, adding numerous terms as board chair and frequently presiding over its annual fundraising gala. Her tireless efforts have enabled the Thalians to contribute millions to the Mental Health Center at Cedars-Sinai and to UCLAโs Operation Mend, which helps military veterans recover from the physical and psychological wounds of war. Reynolds has appeared in more than 40 feature films, including โThe Tender Trap,โ โA Catered Affairโ and โMother,โ and received a 1964 Oscar nomination for her lead performance in โThe Unsinkable Molly Brown.โ
The Honorary Award, an Oscar statuette, is given โto honor extraordinary distinction in lifetime achievement, exceptional contributions to the state of motion picture arts and sciences, or for outstanding service to the Academy.โ
The Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, also an Oscar statuette, is given โto an individual in the motion picture arts and sciences whose humanitarian efforts have brought credit to the industry.โ
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